3 Protagonists 7 Chessmasters 1 Rodent
by Mugenko
Summary: Makoto Naegi survived the Killing Game. But can he survive a Nonary Game? Maybe. What about if we throw in enough masterminds to choke David Xanatos? Things could get ugly.
1. I Don't Like Where This Is Going

**September 9** **th**

"Nnng…huh?"

Waking up from what almost seemed like a drug-induced sleep that may or may not have anything to do with amnesia, Makoto Naegi rubbed the blur from his eyes whilst trying to fight off the strangest nagging sense of déjà vu.

"Wait…isn't this Hope's Peak?"

But that couldn't be right. He had left that place behind, hadn't he? Still, the furnishings of the classroom he woke up in were clearly from the school.

"Oh god…no, please, not again…"

Whatever nightmare he had woken up in, Makoto wanted absolutely no part of it. It was just too cruel. This had to be some sort of sick joke, right?

The boy's eyes landed on the note neatly placed on the desk in front of his. Picking it up with a looming sense of dread, he examined the message.

 **Hey, look, I am SO sorry about this but I just HAD to put you back in that classroom. It was just too perfect. Don't worry though, this time it's different. For realsies.**

If Makoto was confused before, he was doubly so now. Not only did the note manage to conveniently avoid explaining anything about the situation, it also confirmed that, yes, whoever was behind this was deliberately screwing with him.

In a rare surge of anger, he tore the damnable paper up before stomping over to the door. This unfortunately led to him opening it too fast for him to properly brace himself for the worst.

"Heeeeeeey~ Makoto!"

Makoto's heart leapt into his throat as he let out a scream. There were two reasons for his panic. Naturally he was startled, but the more alarming issue was the familiar visage of Junko Enoshima, who by all rights should be dead.

"J-j-junko?!" Makoto was torn. He was too scared to try and flee for fear of provoking her, but too scared to hold his ground.

"Oh god knock it off. We're done with that already. It's not me this time, I swear." Already bored of the Utimate Lucky Student's expected reaction, Junko groaned in exasperation.

"But how can you be…it's not possible…" Not quite willing to calm down, Makoto barely managed to keep his words straight.

"Who knows? But hey it's pretty fucking cool right? Round two bitches! Or not. Like I said; bored. So anyway, it looks like we're both in the same boat this time. And look! You're not the last person to wake up this time!"

Makoto, grateful for an excuse to avert his eyes from the Ultimate Despair, shifted his gaze to the spacious room behind her. Sure enough, they were the only two who had opened their doors; the other seven remained closed.

"So they gave you the classroom I stuck you in before? Nice touch. Come on Makoto tell me, tell me! How much despair did it give you?!"

"Like I said before I have no reason to despair!"

Makoto raised his voice defiantly with an element of annoyance. He did not want to deal with this right now. He did not want to deal with being kidnapped **again**. He did not want to deal with one of Junko's long-ass despair sermons.

"And I'll be damned if I have to deal with being stuck here alone with you for any length of time!" It was unusual for him to be so aggravated, but the scenario in which he had found himself was practically torture. Makoto woke up to find he had been kidnapped – likely to play another life-threatening game set up by some jackass for fuck all purposes – and the only person he had to interact with was his moral antithesis.

Desperately, the lucky boy shoved his way past Junko in a rather jarring departure from his earlier timid behavior and sprinted over to the nearest door. Not even bothering to come to a proper stop, Makoto let his upper body impact the door with a thud, both arms raised to bang on it as long as necessary.

Or at least he would have, had the door not chosen that precise moment to open.

"Oof!" The momentum carried his body into another's, sending both people crashing to the floor. As his Ultimate Luck would have it, Makoto may have had bad timing with the door, but the landing seemed to be rather soft for some reason. Plush, even.

"Seriously? How lame can you be? You couldn't have picked a bigger cliché to stumble into if you tried. I mean come on!" It said something about Junko's character that she was more concerned with Makoto's ridiculous situation than the fact that he was currently laying on top of her twin sister. Mukuro Ikusaba, for her part, at least had the decency to freeze up instead of continuing the gag with classic tsundere bullshit. Though that was arguably more despair-inducing.

"And what the hell Mukuro!? You can't follow up with a proper slap, let alone the fact that you should have dodged that or caught him or killed him or _something_ at least! What does Ultimate Soldier even mean? You let me catch you off guard, you let Makoto catch you off guard; hell I'm surprised you lasted this long! Such a disappointment."

Makoto had tuned out the chronic rambler at this point in favor of being too embarrassed by his close physical contact with a girl to entertain the blonde psychopath. "Mu-Mukuro? As in…"

He scrambled off her, looking extremely flustered as he did so. "Wait, you…I remember you!" Memories of a life he had once forgotten all flashed through his mind. Suddenly, it was as if Junko's artificially induce amnesia had never happened. "Uh…are you okay?" Makoto held his hand out to her.

Mukuro had remained still since being bowled over. Having the boy you like pressed so snugly against your body will do that. Junko was snickering at the stunned twin, obviously well aware of this weakness.

"I'm fine!" She suddenly bolted upright, standing ramrod straight in record time. Makoto's hand, suddenly unneeded, was left hanging awkwardly in front of her. He opened and closed it before retracting the appendage, still in shock from a combination of the circumstance and his memories.

"Huh. Looks like they picked the gymnasium for Mukuro. They even found some Gungnirs! It looks like they're just props though. Ah, sweet memories…" Junko reminisced as she gazed into the open room the soldier had awoken in.

"Wait, the gymnasium? Then is this really…related to Hope's Peak in some way? What was in your room Junko?" Seeing that the girl was busy caught up in her despair fever and being unwilling to break her out of it, Makoto gave Mukuro a quick glance before walking over to Junko's door and peering inside.

…

SLAM.

Makoto slowly pulled back his hand as if he was expecting the doorknob to snap it off if he moved it too quickly. He practically limped back to the other two, and Mukuro had to catch him by the shoulders to keep him from falling over on the spot.

Junko, having donned the glasses she keeps on her person and switched her twintails to a ponytail, adopted a new demeanor and voiced her findings. "It would seem that the rooms we woke up in are modeled to reflect one the worst, most despair-inducing moments in our lives. For Makoto, it was the day the Killing Game began. For my sister, it was the moment I betrayed her. For me, it was-"

"DON'T!" Makoto cut her off before she could say anything further. It was only thanks to his boundless hope that he could survive the experience of seeing what was within Junko's room. No one else could handle it without going mad. It somewhat put Junko's disposition in perspective. No wonder.

"So I take it you all know each other then?"

A new voice echoed in the room, one that neither of the trio recognized in the slightest. Having opened his door just as Makoto slammed Junko's shut, none of them noticed he had come out. A boy around their age stood a respectable distance from them. He wore a uniform that was evocative of a school only the children of wealthy families could afford to attend. With brown, well-groomed hair and violet, analytical eyes, he had the appearance of a foreigner, but his Japanese was flawless.

"My name is Lelouch Lamperouge. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Well, I hope so anyway."

Getting the impression that this guy named Lelouch was kidnapped as well, Makoto was the first to speak. "Oh, uh. Hello. My name is Makoto Naegi. Were you kidnapped too? By any chance, are you an Ultimate?" It was still possible that this incident was related in some way to Hope's Peak Academy. From what he could recall, most of the student body besides his 78th Class did not survive the Tragedy, and those that did...well he could only hope right?

"Ultimate? What do you mean?" Lelouch supposed there was a slight chance he was referring to his social status. Ultimate sounded like something a Britannian might want to be called, but he had never once heard the term before, and the boy said it as if he should know the meaning.

"Ultimate is a title granted to students who are accepted into Hope's Peak Academy." Junko was still in her glasses getup, apparently. "It is appended to the student along with a title befitting their field of study. These students are regarded by the school to be the absolute best at what they do, and the school serves to nurture that talent."

"I feel like I would have heard something about that, but nothing comes to mind. I suppose I will have to take your word for it for now." Lelouch had a troubled look on his face, clearly not sure how he was supposed to react to that piece of information.

"No, I doubt you would have heard of it. Judging by your flawless Japanese and apparent age, would I be correct in assuming that is a school uniform? There exists no school in Japan with a uniform like that. Taking into account the fact that at least two of our group's number are supposed to be dead, it seems clear to me that at least some element of this scenario is rooted in the supernatural or superscience."

"Does she always talk like that?" Lelouch directed this question at the other two.

"Only when she wants to make things take longer. It's convenient when you don't understand what's going on but she gets reaaaally long-winded." Makoto half-whispered to Lelouch, with Mukuro nodding beside him.

"Fuck you! I'm tired of expositioning this shit anyway!"

The retort startled Lelouch who was about to say something, but Makoto beat him to it.

"Don't ask. Just…don't." Makoto warned.

Lelouch could only nod.

Another door opened, accompanied shortly thereafter by a voice that could be described as suave mixed with absolute certainty.

"Well isn't this a quaint little gathering?" A man dressed In a long white coat of some unusual – if simple – design took confident steps toward the growing crowd. His dark brown hair was slicked back and he wore an arrogant smile on his face. Perhaps most alarmingly, a katana seemed to be tied to his waist.

Several more doors opened next, each with a new stranger nobody present at any given time recognized.

First was a young man with medium length white hair and amber colored eyes. He exuded a presence of flippant malice not unlike Junko's, but seemed more reigned in.

Next came an adult man with long black hair and dressed in clothes that looked like they came from the Feudal Era. His eyes were a menacing red, and he looked upon them all with scorn.

A third door revealed a middle aged man with short black hair and a beard. He was dressed in a rather sharp suit with white gloves and wore a pair of yellowish orange oval sunglasses.

But none of them were expecting to see what lay behind the final door…well okay maybe one of them was not surprised, if only because he had seen similar things. Out hopped what could best be described as the mascot for some anime, a white, squirrel-like creature with beady red eyes and rabbit-like ears.

Makoto could only stare at the complete group with an expression that was lost between bewilderment and a scowl.

"I don't like where this is going."


	2. Adding Bracelets Would Just Be Mean

"I don't like where this is going."

 _That was hardly a surprise. This initial setup was not unlike the Killing School Life I had orchestrated when I was alive._

 _Alive? Am I dead? What does it mean to be alive? What does it mean to be dead? Literally speaking, the former is simply not possible under normal circumstances. Naturally, that must mean we are presently operating under abnormal circumstances. I'm sure Makoto will figure that much out towards the end of whatever this situation is. He takes such a hopelessly long time like that. How boring._

 _Introspection is boring. What do these new faces have to offer me?_

The first had introduced himself already. He maintained a friendly façade, but it was plain to Junko that this boy was holding back a veritable mountain of a personality. His every movement, every breath, calculated. She would very much like to butt heads with this Lelouch. Perhaps Junko would get that opportunity.

The rest introduced themselves soon after their arrival. Some were guarded, others jovial, but all seemed to be hiding something.

Sousuke Aizen was the first to speak to them following Lelouch, and the fourth to join the growing group. His attire looked custom made and carried an element of nobility to it. His demeanor spoke volumes: I am above all that is, and all that will be. Of course she recognized that type of personality. They weren't overly hard to break. The higher you climb, the taller your pedestal, the more precarious your balance, the more devastating your fall.

The next seemed to be a kindred spirit. The type she would get along with quite well. Shougo Makishima was his name. Truly, he must have an exquisite sense of despair. There wasn't much more to say about him. The man offered little else.

Following him was a man straight out of feudal Japan. He was dressed like nobility of the time period and introduced himself simply as Naraku; no surname to speak of. The malice this man (if he could be called that) exuded instilled in her a lovely shade of despair.

Incidentally, all three were likely the type to cut down any obstacle in their way – living or otherwise – without hesitation.

Second to last was a less murder-you-in-the-face, more unrepentant manipulator type. The kind who never needed to get his hands dirty. He was initially reluctant to give his name, but after some pause, we learned it was Gendo Ikari. Junko considered him to easily be the one with the most guarded disposition.

The final entrant was easily the oddest of their bunch. In the grand scheme of things, the Hope's Peak students were not as ill-equipped to accept a tiny talking mascot as most others should be, but it would seem that neither were any of the others. Kyubey, as he introduced himself, was only more so unusual than her Monokuma in that it was a living breathing creature. Makishima was probably the only one who openly expressed his curiosity. Aizen barely raised an eyebrow and Naraku didn't react even the slightest bit differently than he had with the others who followed him. Gendo simply adjusted his glasses; probably visual short-hand for 'this was not expected.'

In due time, Junko had analyzed each and every one of them.

 _How boring. I have a feeling I know exactly what is happening here and exactly how it will play out._

Her original talent made things so despairingly boring.

 _I wonder what would happen if I could spin my motivations as a disgruntled student who took revenge on the school because she got accepted for being a Fashionista instead of an Analyst…if I get a chance to troll someone like that, I might take it._

As her mind began to wander, another person finally started breaking out of their shock.

* * *

This had easily been the strangest day of Mukuro Ikusaba's life. Not the most tragic – that honor went to her sister's betrayal – but certainly the strangest.

Mukuro had been rather quiet since her door opened. It was hard to blame her, considering the mental state she must have been in. The last thing she remembered was the searing, unbelievably blinding pain of her first (and last) ever major injuries. She had spent the last several minutes still reeling from the trauma of it all, and had barely registered Makoto's presence.

When she finally began to snap out of her mental prison, she had only two words she wanted to say.

"Fuck. You."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

No one had any real response for that. Mukuro was going to have to continue to get whatever point she wanted to make across.

In a more serious and significantly more in-character scenario, Mukuro would likely not have said these words to her sister. In another time, she might have gone through a long and arduous recovery process that spanned several chapters of character development as she healed.

If you haven't figured it out by now, this is not that kind of story.

"Excuse me? Is something wrong dear sister?"

"RRRRRAAAAARRRGH!"

In a flash of fury, the Ultimate Soldier was upon her twin, choking the life out of her in short order. Junko, for her part, had the decency to look surprised for a moment, but that expression was swiftly replaced with what could best be described as a despairgasm.

"HOLY SHIT MUKURO STOP!" Makoto raced to the two in a futile attempt to resolve the rapidly escalating situation, but it turned out he didn't need to.

 _ **FWIT!**_

Some strange sound passed by him before Mukuro suddenly slowed her onslaught before coming to a full stop and slumping over.

"Hey! What's wrong!?" Makoto reached her side, and was relieved to see she was fast asleep. A tranquilizer dart was stuck in her neck. He gently removed the object and examined it closely before looking in the direction it had to have come from.

"What."

There was a blatantly obvious cardboard box sitting in the middle of the floor. From the slot facing them was some kind of a blowpipe. No, more importantly, that had DEFINITELY not been there before. He was literally looking in that direction a moment before Mukuro's outburst.

" **Ahem**." An obviously transformed voice came from the box. " **Right then, I guess I should get this all rolling before we have any more…incidents.** " No one moved a muscle as they watched the cardboard box turn around and shuffle over toward a podium that was also not present before. Makoto began to get the feeling that some of his surroundings literally did not exist until drawn attention to by some outside force.

" **So like, I considered a couple different disguises and avatars before I got here, but most of them had already been used before. You know, a bear, a rabbit…even a flower**." Silence came from his audience.

" **Not much for conversation, are you? I'll just leave this here**." A click was heard before a white board dropped from the ceiling behind the box, subsequently lit up by a projector. Shortly after, the box vanished through a trapdoor. The projection displayed a set of instructions that read thusly:

 **Step 1: Pick a team. Limit three per team.**

 **Step 2: Pick a door and go through it. Limit one team per door.**

 **Step 3: ?**

 **Warning: Don't dawdle or get left behind. You…won't like what happens if you do. You have all been stripped of any abilities and properties that might be considered…unfair. Consider the implications and consequences of defying a force with the power to accomplish this. You have been warned.**

Several lights switched on, illuminating three doors that previously went unnoticed. Above them were three placards reading as follows:

 **TRIAL OF FRIENDSHIP**

 **TRIAL OF BLOOD**

 **TRIAL OF SCHEMES**

"I'm…not sure I like the sound of those other two." These words came from the boy named Lelouch. He turned around and glanced at his choice of team members before his eyes landed squarely on Makoto who was currently trying to get Mukuro into a more comfortable position until she awoke. "You seem pretty level headed and more…friendly than the others. Want to team up?"

"Uh…sure. Is it alright if she comes with us? Can you uh…can you help me carry her?" Makoto indicated the sleeping Mukuro, clearly having trouble pulling her up.

"I can probably help her onto your back but I can barely carry my own weight before…uh never mind." Lelouch did as he promised, and soon enough the unconscious girl was slumped over Makoto's back. He seemed to have trouble moving for a moment, but he pressed forward and seemed to manage alright. The trio approached the door labeled 'Trial of Friendship' and paused for a moment to check if this action was ok with the other teams.

But they were all already gone. They apparently had no interest in whatever Friendship had to offer. Lelouch let out a breath of relief.

"Like I'm going through those deathtraps again…"

"Huh?"

"Er, nothing. Shall we?"

With those words, the two plus one entered the door to the ordeal that awaited them.

* * *

" **Ah! Crap, wait! I finished the bracelets guys! Now we can have more fun- aww they're gone already. Damn it**." The cardboard box had come back with nine bulky, mechanical bracelets placed on its top side, but all three teams had already picked and traveled through to their trials.

" **Well whatever. The odds are stacked against them as it is. Adding bracelets would just be mean.** "


End file.
